eBay is the biggest online auction marketplace. Some people make their livings from buying and selling items on eBay whilst other sell the odd item here and there. There are thousands of categories in which to find items to buy, such as antiques, garden, books, agriculture, websites, construction, bullion, coins, art supplies, beads and jewelry making, glass and mosaics, original autographs, pottery and China, gift cards and many many more.
If you want to learn about free markets, eBay is a good starting place.
Researching eBay
Here are some ideas of the kinds of eBay related tasks you can set your students:
- What items do you think would sell for the highest amount? Houses, luxury cars, yachts?
- What kind of research can you do on a seller to determine whether they are trustworty?
- What items are selling the most at the moment?
- If you were selling an ite, what things could you do to increase interest? Display photos from every angle, present concise information that a potential buyer would need to know in order to make their decision?
- If you wanted to buy an item on eBay, what factors would you need to cnsider? Do you need to collect, could it be posted, or would it be delivered to you? What will your maximum bid be?
- What risks are involved with buying on eBay? What about selling?